She chuckled mirthlessly. “Accepting agreements without understanding the terms is foolish.”
“I’m eager and willing, and as you’ve pointed out, talented.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Those weren’t my exact words.”
“You believed me to have been previously trained.”
She approached the small table beside the chaise, setting the chamberstick down, and began rifling through a stack of papers.
I used her fleeting absence to hiss at Kole, “How long have you been coming here?”
“Longer than I’ve known you and Basil. Besides, your brother would kill us both if he knew I brought you here.”
“So why now?”
He only grinned, as if it were enough to make up for his deceit. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. You know how I feel about you.”
I cared for Kole, certainly. If he were to get trampled by a Hippogriff, of course I would be upset. The longer I knew him, the more secrets he seemed to keep. And that, I realized, might never change.
Kole jerked his sharp chin. “I mean, look at what I’ve made possible for you.”
The matron returned with a pile of parchment. “We’ll need your agreement in writing, girl. And be sure to sign what your given name on your natal chart says. You’ll need to procure that document to verify your identity.”
“Not a problem,” I said quickly, even though it would be. Nahn had our charts locked up somewhere I couldn’t place. As a precaution for all the customers we had coming in and out of the shop, she’d explained. Though we weren’t important enough for someone to want to steal our charts or identities. “And I’m not a girl.”
“I don’t care. What I care about is you fulfilling the role successfully and making me money.” She handed me a heavy quill attached to a silvery feather along with the papers. I hesitated again. This seemed too good to be true.
Kole said, “Think about your map.”
I longed for freedom. This opportunity could get me there. I took the quill tentatively and signed the last page pressed against my thigh.
When the woman glanced over the finished agreement, her eyes flicked up to me in surprise. “I never would have pegged you for a Capricorn rising.”
“I’m full of surprises.”
She continued with expectations in a blur so fast I struggled to retain everything.
“We’ll provide your costume. You’ll receive a fifteen percent cut to start, and that will increase, of course, as your worthis proved. Rehearsal begins at half past nine every morning. Tomorrow you will start shadowing Yarah?—”
“Tomorrow?” I blanched. “Nine thirty?”
“Is that going to be a problem?”
Well, shit. With Basil expected to travel again soon, Nahn needed my help with the shopespeciallyas we reopened tomorrow afterTempus. “I…”
I couldn’t turn down a dream opportunity. This could be my only chance to prove I was good forsomething.
The woman sighed and returned to her lounging position as if she could no longer be bothered with our presence. “There are plenty of other women who wouldn’t dare insult me with hesitation. My dancer has an immortal reputation for a reason. I don’t need you sullying it.”
The room tilted slightly. “What, exactly, is this position for? I assumed the contract was for one of the showgirls I spotted earlier?—”
“A mere showgirl?” She leveled her catlike gaze with mine beneath our masks. “Should anything happen to my Yarah, you will replace her as Serpentine’s one and only main dancer. The reason men and women travel far and wide to come here. Serpentine’s primary attraction.” She paused. “You will be the main event.”
Chapter 7
Raithe
The night draggedon painfully slow as I pondered the ominous note Gregorios had sent me. Most of the palace staff had gone to sleep, save for the other guards on lunar watch, leaving the halls silent beyond the distant chirping of crickets.
